Council presents draft 2018 EU budget to EP

In the course of the preparation of the 2018 EU budget, the Estonian Deputy Finance Minister and Chief Negotiator for the 2018 EU budget, Märt Kivine, presented the position of the Council of the European Union on the draft budget at the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP) on 12 September 2017.

According to the Council’s position, the 2018 EU budget should focus on growth, jobs, security and handling migration, while also ensuring enough financial leeway to respond to unforeseen needs. Nonetheless, the Council position foresees budget cuts in several policy areas, actions and programmes (including Horizon 2020), compared to the European Commission's draft budget. In total, the Council foresees €158.9 billion in commitments and €144.4 billion in payments. This is an increase of 0.6% and 7.4% respectively compared to the 2017 EU budget.

The Council's position on the draft EU budget for 2018 was adopted by the member states on 4 September 2017. If the EP adopts amendments that diverge from the Council's position by 26 October 2017, there will be a three-week conciliation period starting on 31 October 2017, in order to reach a joint position of both institutions on the 2018 budget by 20 November 2017.